What is a Leach Field?

I get asked this question often. What is a leach field? A leach field is commonly know as a drain field which is a portion of area that is attached to a septic tank for an individual home. The main purpose of the leach field is to disperse liquids from the septic tank in the an area of soil by means of drains which eventually gets spread out in the large area known as the leach field. When the liquid waste passes through the leach field that is made up of earth, gravel and other similar material, it gets all the organic matter removed and transformed into useful substances.

With people being environmental conscious many are looking at having some sort of on site sewage treatment process where they could actually make use of the treated waste water. These days with the rise to water shortage and green movements all over the world it has been found that waste accumulated from the household can be utilized as manure and water for plants in beautifying the place and environment. Although it is ideal to prepare a leach field at the construction stage of a home. People can also have a leach field installed within their premises as a normal life span for a leach field would be around 10-30+ years.

The basic plan for a typical leach field would be to have a connection by means of a rock-solid pipe roughly 4 inches in diameter from the septic tank to a distribution box in an area of land that would accommodate the leach field. From the distribution box there should be a number of pipes projecting out which throw out water into several trenches about a foot deep placed in rows that are padded with gravel and other similar substances to filter the waste liquid coming from the septic tank via the distribution box. Depending on the area that your in your leach field may be much deeper. This has much to do with the frost zone. The frost zone is the point in the soil where water may not freeze. This level may be anywhere from 1 foot to 6 feet below the surface.

It is common to have to get approval from the various concerned authorities for installing a leach field in one’s property as it does affect the health of the people in the property as well as those surrounding it. All leach fields must be inspected by the concern authority in order to make sure that the degree of slope has be achieved, and the flow is proper along with other stipulations. The leach field should be constructed by a professional contractor that is licensed and has the knowledge and experience of developing a leach field and basically not a job for the common man to attempt.